]]>Preserving Local History: A Community Affairhttp://www.gwbhs.org/preserving-local-history-a-community-affair/
Wed, 19 Aug 2015 13:03:51 +0000http://www.gwbhs.org/?p=8638Preserving archaeological and architectural history in the midst of budget constraints and fast

construction deadlines is not an easy feat, but it is an important one. It takes activism and

dedication to ensure our community’s history continues to thrive for generations to come.

The campus of The Orchard Lake Schools, which includes St. Mary’s Preparatory, SS. Cyril &

Methodius Seminary, and The Polish Mission, is located along Orchard Lake, at a site that, from

1877 1908,

was the location of the Michigan Military Academy. Orchard Lake Schools is on the

U.S. National Register of Historic Places and one of the buildings of historic significance on the

campus is called the Galeria. Once the dining hall of the Michigan Military Academy, today, the

Galeria is the central chapel on campus and houses a permanent art collection.

As The Polish Mission has a need for more building space, a project to expand the historic

Galeria is planned. Community organizations, Greater West Bloomfield Historical Society

(GWBHS), and Detroit Center for Public Archaeology (DCPA) have come together with The

Polish Mission to preserve the archaeological history in advance of the new construction.

“We applaud The Polish Mission as it works to expand its programming and building space

while honoring the traditions and architecture of the past,” explained Gina Gregory, President of

From July 1 through the 16th Dr. LouAnn Wurst of Western Michigan University, Mark Hoock a doctoral student from American University in Washington D.C., Aaron Howe a graduate assistant Western Michigan University, and a team of nine field school students returned to Apple Island to continue the archaeological investigation of the Campbell occupation. As part of our project goals, we excavated around the Campbell and Harvey houses, ultimately broadening our understanding of how these families, who were important to the construction of Detroit, made use of their vacation island.

While it was a short field season, it was especially productive. We spent two busy weeks on Apple Island collecting an impressive 6545 artifacts. From porcelain tableware to rusted nails, the patterns that emerged from these artifacts are already helping us piece together the vacation experience of the Campbells. A Rockingham ware pitcher with a hunting scene decoration, bullets, fishing hooks, fish and small mammal bones all speak to an interest in sport hunting and competitive activities. A blue transfer print plate with a priory pattern and two molded gothic paneled plates, taken in light of the 32 communion glasses found during the 2013 field season further support the Campbell family’s strong religious influence. Even Native American pottery found amongst the 19th century artifacts coupled with historical narratives, which discussed Forrest Campbell orchestrating the performance of a Native American ritual makes for an interesting consideration of the Campbell’s curiosity and perhaps admiration for Early Americans. We also found 65 smoking pipe fragments including 19 individual pipes, indicating a striking amount of smoking.

The information the 2014 field season yielded combined with the data collected in 2013 supports Apple Island’s eligibility as a state recognized historic property. Dr. Wurst and Skylar Bauer of WMU are sending the completed questionnaire for evaluation by the Michigan State Historic Preservation Office (MISHPO). Furthermore, Skylar is continuing to collect the necessary documentation and writing up the official National Register of Historic Places Registration Form in order to successfully place Apple Island on the National Register.

Additionally, the data collected furthers the scope of Mark Hoock’s dissertation project, which focuses on the Campbell’s social position, maintained through social relations and performances on Apple Island.

We would also very much like to thank the West Bloomfield Historic Society for their support of the Apple Island Archaeological Project.

]]>An Historical Look at the WB Fire Department in Honor of Jay Wiseman’s Servicehttp://www.gwbhs.org/an-historical-look-at-the-wb-fire-department-in-honor-of-jay-wisemans-service/
Fri, 10 Apr 2015 15:56:48 +0000http://www.gwbhs.org/?p=8492In honor of the retirement of Fire Chief Jay Wiseman, Local Stew is taking a look back at the early history of the West Bloomfield Fire Department courtesy of the Greater West Bloomfield Historical Society.

Originally called the Keego Firemans Club, the West Bloomfield Fire Department was organized in 1923 with 15 volunteer firefighters, mostly businessmen from Keego Harbor. The first fire station, donated by a local judge, was housed in an old garage on Orchard Lake Road, now the site of the Keego Hardware parking lot. The first paid firefighter received $1.00 per night in 1931 to spend the night at the fire station and keep the fire truck clean and ready to go.

In 1939 the Township built a new fire station in Keego Harbor where most of the population was centered. The Michigan State Police set up their headquarters in the upstairs, answered the fire phone and set off the siren for firefighters. In 1968 the communities of Keego Harbor, Sylvan Lake and Orchard Lake formed their own fire department, known as the Tri-City Fire Department.

Men from the Walnut Lake Fire Department and Early Fire Car, Left to right: Ray Hetcher, Claude Whitman, Ernest Jacobson and Clayton LaMotte. Photo Courtesy of Greater West Bloomfield Historical Society

The Snow Apple or Fameuse (also known as: Snow Chimney, Chimney Apple, Red American, Royal Snow, Pomme De Neige, or Chimney Point) is aptly named for both the fruit’s white flesh and the tree’s winter hardiness. Tolerating cold winters, it is well-suited to northern climes. An unknown disease or severe cold snap killed almost all the trees in the 1860s. Following the demise of the Quebec line, the Snow Apple fell into obscurity and is rarely grown today.
The Snow Apple is one of the oldest known apple varieties on record, most likely originating in France in the late 1600s (1650-1699), although some European pomologists claim its origins were in Canada. Its start in North America may have been a seedling orchard from seeds brought from France (one of the few apples that often reproduce true to variety from seed). This variety (Malus domestica) was noted in Canada in 1739 and was first introduced to the United States that same year. Snow Apples were found in almost every French settlement in the late 1700s and were the most commonly cultivated apple in Quebec for over 100 years.
The distinctive bright ‘snow white’ flesh can also be a pale pink, red, red-flushed, or pale-yellow and/or can have a red streak or occasional crimson stains near the skin. (My father would reminisce about eating Snow Apples with pink flesh, on his paternal grandparents’ farm, saying the redder the flesh, the colder the winter to come). The skin is crimson with green stripes. This apple is small to medium in size and ripens in early fall (late September to early October). The Snow Apple is very sweet (sub-acid), tender and juicy, with a nice crisp and a smooth sweet wine-like flavor and strawberry-like aroma, making it good for apple cider because of this aromatic and distinct flavor. Storage is fair, one to two months, so apples are best eaten fresh or used for baked goods or sauce.
The tree has heavy branching so needs regular pruning. Without early thinning, it tends to produce a heavy crop biennially. The Snow Apple is very mildew resistant, and has some resistance to both bacterial canker and fire-blight, although very susceptible to scab. A probable ancestor, the McIntosh apple, is a cross between the Fameuse and the Detroit Red and was discovered by a Canadian farmer around 1800 who gave his name to the variety.
In his comprehensive book Le Journal D’Agriculture Illustre published in 1889, writer and botanist Jules N. Paquet said: “But I remain without expressions when I eat a Fameuse apple in our happy winter evenings. Is there a most succulent, most tasty; with a richer taste and more flavourful? In one word, is the Fameuse, no species will equal it in quality, argue its glorious title; Admittedly it has certainly not stolen it’s picturesque name.”

See this sign and other related items at an Orchard Lake Museum Open House, the second Sunday of each month, from 1-4 p.m.

The Wayside Exhibits is a project of the MotorCities National Heritage Area dedicated to preserving, interpreting and promoting the automotive and labor heritage of the State of Michigan. MotorCities, an affiliate of the National Park Service, was designated by the U.S. Congress in 1998 to “preserve the cultural and historic landscape associated with the automobile in Southeastern and Central Michigan.” The Greater West Bloomfield Historical Society (Orchard Lake Museum), West Bloomfield Parks & Recreation, Westacres Community Association, the Oakland County’s Department of Economic Development & Community Affairs, local governments, and many volunteers worked with the MotorCities National Heritage Area Wayside Exhibit program to help create more than 20 local outdoor exhibits about the automotive heritage of Keego Harbor, Orchard Lake, Sylvan Lake, and West Bloomfield. Beginning in 2012, GWBHS volunteer historians, Cara Kazanowski, Helen Jane Peters and Sue Williams, provided historical information and images for the design of many of the exhibit signs. The Orchard Lake area exhibits are a part of a network of approximately 250-300 (2’x3’) signs that will be created throughout central and southeastern Michigan to chronicle automotive and railway transportation. This historic project was made possible through a grant from the Federal Highway Administration, Department of Transportation, the Michigan Department of Transportation, and the Michigan Department of History, Arts and Libraries.

A grindstone is a round stone used for grinding or sharpening ferrous tools and was an indispensable necessity on any working farm. An abrasive material is rubbed against the cutting edge to be sharpened or shaped. Grindstones came in a wide range of grit sizes (the sharpening surface substance must be harder than the material being sharpened), with the most traditional material being a natural stone such as sandstone or granite. The typical “farmyard” grindstone would have been used to sharpen ax blades, knives, hoes, and other farm implements. Small amounts of water dripping on the stone as it turns (wet grinding), keeps the stone from over-heating.
Early grinding wheels, rotated by two cranks, one on each end of its axle, date from around 1340. Circa 1480, the early medieval rotary grindstone was improved with a treadle and crank mechanism. Pedals to power the rotating lathe allow the operator to speed and slow the stone. The Orchard Lake Museum’s grindstone, once owned by Mrs. Albert D. Noble, is a ‘one-person’ grindstone with the wheel being turned by a pushrod connected to a foot pedal. The museum’s grindstone is on display at all Open Houses (second Sunday of each month from 1-4 PM).

And what about the adage of ‘nose to the grindstone,’ meaning to continuously work hard? The first known citation is found in John Frith’s A Mirrour or Glasse to Know Thyselfe, from 1532: “This text holdeth their noses so hard to the grindstone, that it clean disfigureth their faces.” All early citations refer to holding someone’s nose to the grindstone as a form of punishment and comes from the practice of knife grinders, when sharpening blades, bending over the stone or even lying flat on their fronts with their faces near the grindstone, in order to hold the blades against the stone.

1) Upon his retirement from the Michigan Supreme Court, Joseph Tar Copeland, built a home on the campus grounds of the Michigan Military Academy, currently the site of Orchard Lake St. Mary’s. This impressive oak and brick home had the architectural lines of a mid-Victorian castle. At the onset of the Civil War, Copeland was called out of retirement and fought with the 1st Michigan Cavalry. A few years after the war ended, Lt. Col. Copeland, with the help of a few investors, added on to his home, creating the Orchard Lake Hotel. The hotel opened on June 20, 1872, accommodating about one hundred guests. (It closed in 1877, never having recovered from the financial panic of 1873.) In 1871 J. Henry Whittemore composed Orchard Lake Polka, “Dedicated to the Stockholders and Patrons of the Orchard Lake Hotel, the Saratoga of Michigan.” The cover features a picture of the hotel and Orchard Lake.

2) In 1899, Orchard Lake Cadets March was published. The piece was dedicated to the Michigan Military Academy. Its composer, Richard W. Groom, served as music director at the MMA from 1899-1908. The Grand Rapids Press called it “a composition of real merit – one that exactly hits the nail of popular taste on the head.” Its cover features a picture of Superintendent Col. J Sumner Rogers, as well as the lake. The cost was 40 cents for the piano solo and 50 cents for the full band score.

3) Apple Island Legend was written by noted composer, publisher and Port Huron native James Curnow. Supporters of the Orchard Lake Middle School Band program donated the necessary funds for the commission of this piece. The composer conducted the premier performance on Jan. 18, 1997 at the annual State Music Educators Mid-Western Conference at Ann Arbor’s Hill Auditorium, featuring the Orchard Lake Middle School Symphony Band. According to Doug Blackwell, former band director of the OLMS Symphony Band, this was the first time any West Bloomfield ensemble had been chosen to perform. The band reprised their performance 4 years later. Apple Island Legend quickly was added to the State List of compositions that could be selected for performance at District and State Band Festivals. Curnow dedicated the piece “to the many young musicians who, with bright eyes and strong hearts, share their gift of music.” This piece can be heard at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXCpcxdYgBs

Sylvan Lake’s history dates back to 1818 when an expedition led by Rev. John Montieth rode into the area to see what lay between Detroit and the newly established post of Pontiac. The expedition discovered a chain of lakes. The lake which lay closest to Pontiac was surrounded by a fringe of tamaracks and was considered by the group to be the most beautiful. The explorers named this body of water Timber Lake, afterward changed to Sylvan Lake.

]]>Our School Historyhttp://www.gwbhs.org/events/
Fri, 31 Oct 2014 16:56:36 +0000http://www.gwbhs.org/?p=8204West Bloomfield, the township of lakes and gentle hills, is one of transformation from wilderness beginnings and the domain of the Indian for some 12,000 years to agricultural prominence, to vacation dreams and summer resorts, to now established suburban living. The natural beauty and resources of its residents have played a key role in its growth.

Since its earliest settlement, these residents have been deeply committed to education as the key to passing on their heritage and preparing their children to shape the future of our township. Peal of The Bell chronicles the community’s history to carry that mission into the 21st Century.

This report includes a virtual exhibit of photos and documents of the history of the schools serving children living in West Bloomfield, Michigan. Like other more traditional museum exhibits it combines original artifacts and primary documents with text, captions, and analysis to help the reader understand the importance and significance of these items.

This presentation allows you to enlarge images for closer inspection or readability because we believe that a picture is worth a thousand words. You might want to focus on people’s faces to see if you recognize them or to examine their expression. Perhaps you want to study clothing styles, penmanship, or advertisements of the day. These images also help you to visualize the environment of the scene and place yourself within it. Many of the pictures in this exhibit are actual original documents and artifacts produced by the people who made the history of West Bloomfield Schools. Examining them will bring you one step closer to the events that shaped our current school system.